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Kerbal Express Airlines is in need of updating its aging fleet of regional jets and turboprops. It's a big client, operating at hundreds of airports around Kerbin, and that means big fleet sales. Does your aircraft company offer the right kind of aircraft for the job?

Kerbal Express wants profitable aircraft. They're looking for aircraft that meet or exceed their requirements for fuel efficiency, speed, range, passenger load, ease of training, and cost of maintenance, for the right price that gives them the best return on investment. They also want a design that's flexible, offering variations of the same design for a variety of different routes.

To improve your design's competitiveness, your company can submit a variant of the same design (SeeWantssection below). A variant is built on the same model platform with minor changes in design to give it, say, extra range, or extra passenger room. This is most commonly achieved by adding fuel tanks or lengthening the cabin, sometimes with minor changes to wing and emmpanage design. To qualify as a variant, it must generally have the same structural layout, meaning engines, gear, and lift surfaces must be in roughly the same location & design.Basically, if you make it too different, it will be considered a separate model/submission.

Thepriceof your aircraft times 1,000. (If $23,555 in-game, submit as $23,555,000. This is just for fun to make prices more realistic.)

The recommended cruising speedandaltitudefor your aircraft.This is the speed and altitude you've fine-tuned your designs for, ensuring the best balance of speed, range, and fuel efficiency. It's also what the test pilots will be testing your aircraft at for judging.

(Optional, but will help in review) Pitch your aircraft to the Kerbal Express Airlines executives, selling them on why it should be purchased for their fleet. Include any notable features (even if fictional).

It is likely to have a higher cost and part count than some of the competition since the original customer wanted a craft that could supercruise without afterburners.

I would like to point out that the Starship retains this ability for overwater flights, and is also able to cross the sound barrier without noisy, inefficient afterburning. 14km, 100% throttle (dry) 572 m/s cruise with 0.10404 Units total fuel consumption.

Subsonic cruise is with 32% throttle at 7km and 227 m/s. Fuel burn is 25% lower, but you can see that passenger miles per gallon is better operating at its design speed.

Spoiler

Screechcraft's Spaceplane design experience has been leveraged to create an airframe that performs well in all low dynamic pressure regimes, namely fast and high as well as low and slow.

Guaranteed flight deck visits for every passenger, with integrated calisthenics workout (namely, the only way in is via the bubble canopy)

Self Disassembly

Spoiler

The fighter style inline cockpit has allowed us to place a crumple zone to protect the flight crew in the event of frontal impact at typical landing speeds. Remember, crew learn from their mistakes, keep them alive and you'll soon have the best pilots in the industry !

We at Kerbal Express Airlines are not entirely sure what to make of the Screechcraft Starship. On one hand, the Starship performs admirably at all speeds and all fuel distributions, so it can be used at a variety of airports. Notably, it can reach its takeoff speed in less than four seconds. Its simplistic design of 42 parts makes it easy to maintain, too. On the other hand, it weighs 24 tons and doesn't turn very well, so it requires a long, very careful approach for landings. The landing itself is very easy; the Starship's well-balanced wingspan makes flying at speeds as low as 40 m/s quite easy. The range is very high: 5000 km at optimal altitude and cruising speed. However, Jebadiah Kerman was unable to reach the advertised 14,000 m without the use of all three afterburners, and even then, the maximum speed reached was 350 m/s, not 500 m/s. We're not sure if Screechcraft used an autopilot or if Jebadiah was simply not up to the task, but we don't see 14,000 m as viable. The main criticism we had with the Starship was its price tag of 41,619,000. It's simply too expensive to put into widespread use.

Update: Upon further testing, Intern Jorley Kerman managed to push the Starship into supersonic territory. It performs as advertised, with a range of 4,800 km, and a speed of 535 m/s at 13,000 m. We did note that it was difficult to slow the aircraft down; due to its lack of toggleable flaps, the landing was performed at 160 m/s.

The Verdict:
The Screechcraft Starship's winning feature is its range. It will fly you anywhere you want it to, and very quickly at that, but you will need to avoid mountains. Ordering 3 for use on trans-oceanic routes.

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Contrary to some reports, the Starship is in fact quite capable of achieving supersonic flight without illegal use of the afterburners and using the basic autopilot supplied with the aircraft.

Method -

1. Climb to at least 7km . Level off to achieve >200m/s if not already over 200m/s

2. Activate SAS and set mode to Prograde Hold. Leave throttles wide open at 100% but under no circumstances activate afterburner. Use of afterburner voids warranty and may trigger military action from the KDF IR monitoring network.

3. Aircraft will accelerate to mach 1.5-1.9 on its own and oscillate between 11-15km in a series of Phugoid oscillations. These may dampen out eventually but once properly supersonic and at altitude, I recommend deactivating SAS and manually adding pitch trim.

4. Use ALT S to add small amounts to nose up trim and limit the dive rate when it noses over at the top of a phugoid, use nose down trim if it starts climbing rapidly over 13km.

5. When the flight path is more or less level at 13km, use ALT X to remove all trim, and set SAS back to prograde hold again. The aircraft will remain level though may gradually drift up to 14km and stay there.

Video notes - this video was sped up to 3x

The aircraft was flown with keyboard only. No pitch or rudder inputs were made , the vertical flight path was controlled only by turning SAS on or off, or changing mode from Attitude Hold to Prograde Hold. As you can see, during the initial climb , SAS was turned on Attitude Hold mode to stop the nose from rising too steep.

EDIT - I left the game running while editing the video, uploading the video, and writing this post. When I tabbed back in , half an hour later, Prograde Hold on SAS had gotten us out to here -

Edited September 11, 2017 by AeroGav

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A simple plane for transporting passengers or livestock to the next town over, the Dusty line by Abstract Aerodynamics is just perfect for the airline on a budget. With the base 24 passenger model available at the low low price of 8 121 000 and still boasting great features such as seats and interior lamps, you just know the offer cannot be beat. We also offer an elongated variant of the Dusty for those lucrative crowded routes, so you can use those same spare parts for all your planes.

Estimated range of 840 km with a typical fuel consumption rate at cruise of a bit less than 0.05 units/second.

Example cruise:

Spoiler

Recommended landing and takeoff speed is 50 m/s. The landing gear was, like all parts, made by the lowest bidder, and is rather flimsy. It will cheerfully break if a landing is attempted at a lower airspeed (higher vertical velocity).

No airbrakes are included, however we believe the reverse thrust function (action group 1) will cover all your airspeed reduction needs.

We are just as surprised as you are with the high cruising speed, the original design was planned for only 160 m/s. However, as mandated by all applicable laws and regulations, we thoroughly tested at speeds up to 320 m/s and detected no structural weaknesses. So go ahead, throttle up all the way.

Dusty XL AAC431-2 variant:

Spoiler

The Dusty XL variant features an elongated hull with an increased passenger capacity. To accommodate the higher mass, the wings were slightly extended. Obviously the higher mass also reduced the range, which fell below the requirements for this category. This can be remedied with a bolt-on fuel tank capable of storing an additional 50 units of fuel, however this tank is entirely optional, and can be rotated in and out by two engineers using typical service equipment in under 15 minutes. The effects of the bolt-on tank are included with a plus sign where relevant.

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well... since i missed the deadline by 57 minutes, i am deffinetly entering this, starting of with the original plane for the old challange

company: TSG aerospace

name of the plane: SP-32-1 "Arrow"

cost: 17418000

part count: 45

mass: 10.753t

range: 1556.775km

fuel: 410

fuel usage: 0.11 at 6625m and 291m/s, 0.08 at 8000m and 280m/s

coasting altitude and speed: if fuel is over 300 units the coasting altitude is 6625m and if below 300 units 8000m

max speed at 6625m is 291m/s and at 8000m 280m/s

notes: tweakscale was used just for the air intake, nothing else

the TSG SP-32-1 "Arrow" is a relatively cheap and low maintanence turbofan airplane capable of transporting 32 kerbals over 1500 km, it uses 0.11 units of fuel on the high end and 0.08 units on the low end, it´s easy to fly, highly maneuverable and includes flaps and an engine capable of retroburning to help with landing. the TSG SP-32-1 "Arrow" is a smart choice for anyone who needs to take up to 32 kerbals to the other side of the world !

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Sounds like something to do. However, any shots you see of my craft may look odd as i have AfterKerbin(planet pack beta) on my saves. No difference on solitude (kerbin) as all physical characteristics are the same.

Also, how about adding a mega plane category, with a capacity of 120+ passengers? Thanks!

Edit: how about long flyers? Maybe a plane with at least 10 passengers, and able to go around Kerbin 4-5 times?

The ISRJ-32 features the latest in passenger comfort and simple maintenance, while being relatively inexpensive to boot. For the nominal price of 20,655,000 kerbucks (price reductions are expected in the near future), the ISRJ-32 offers comfortable seating for a maximum of 32 passengers, an extremely stable plane (thanks to the precise positioning of the wings), and flexibility at airports thanks to its short takeoff and landing capabilities. Maintenance is extremely simple thanks to the presence of only a single Wheesley engine. The thrust reverser, as well as the four airbrakes, ensures that speed can be increased and decreased easily in midair.

The large wings present means that the plane can reliably glide, and means that flaps are not necessary. This simplifies maintenance even further, as does the low part count of 38 parts.

Despite the plane seeming like it would be damaged by a tail strike on every takeoff, this is impossible, as a protective I-beam has been installed as a protection during tailstrikes on takeoffs up to 80m/s. Although this shouldn't be necessary, as the plane can take off easily without a tailstrike with proper piloting.

Numerical information:

Price: 20,655,000 kerbucks (price reduction in progress)

Recommended cruising altitude: The ISRJ-32 performs best when cruising at an altitude of roughly 8.5 to 9 kilometers above sea level.

Recommended cruising speed: The ISRJ-32 doesn't have a particular speed to maintain. Just get her up to the cruising altitude and open up the taps. Top speed should be around 245-260m/s, depending on what altitude the plane is being flown at.

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Thinking back to the last challenge, I'd also suggest rebalancing the passenger capacity of the cabins. With the current numbers there is absolutely no reason to use the Mk2 cabin (same capacity as Mk1, but heavier and more expensive), and the 2.5m cabin is also lighter and cheaper than the Mk3, while seating the same number (the only reason to use it is if you don't want to install mods).

A kerbal is 1m tall, so for comparison we'll multiply all dimensions by 2.

Mk1 cabin - 1.25 radius, 1.875 length, 1t mass, 550 cost

I'll compare this one with the Bombardier CRJ200, which has a hull diameter of 2.69m, which is close enough to 1.25m * 2.
The total cabin length including cargo (which we're not including separately) is about 16m, so it seats about 3.2 people per metre, so about 12 passengers per cabin. To maintain consistency, let's divide that by 1.5 to get back to 8.

Taking, for example, the Boeing 747, it seats 16 people instead of 4 for the same length, and the A380 seats 18. It has a lot more space for baggage underneath too.
The Mk3 is twice as long as the Mk1, so it would be reasonable for it to seat at least 8 times more people.
Looking at the A380 (only part of 747 is double-decker), it also has some unoccupied spaces for storage, but it also has quite a few non-economy seats with extra space. With a cabin length of about 47m seating 544, it seats 11.5 people per metre, which is in line with our estimate, after accounting for first-class seats.
So the Mk3 should seat at least 64 passengers. I'd suggest 72 to make it easier to balance with the 2.5 cabin.

Mk2 cabin - 1.25 height, 2.5 width, 1.875 length, 2t mass, 4200 cost
I couldn't find any passenger equivalent of the Mk2 cabin, but at twice the width, twice the mass and 8 times the price, having it seat double the Mk1 capacity seems somewhat reasonable (assume a two-aisle arrangement). So 16 passengers.

2.5m cabin - 2.5 radius, 3.75 length, 2t mass, cost 10000
At 5m it's bigger than the typical Boeing 737, but not quite big enough to be a true double-decker. It's also oddly light for it's size, even the hitchhiker with it's 6m/s crash tolerance (no reinforcement) is heavier, and it's half the length. So for this one I'd depart from measuring by part size, and suggest 24 passengers for balance reasons.

The Mk1 is still overwhelmingly cheaper, but the Mk3 and 2.5m cabin might become somewhat competitive with a lower mass/passenger. The Mk3 is heavier per passenger, but seats more for the same length, and the 2.5m parts have better drag characteristics. And sometimes a plane is just too long, so using the Mk2 might still make sense to get a higher crew capacity without resorting to twin-fuselage aircraft, which, let's be honest, are all wacky and thus are disallowed by the rules.

Though having the 2.5m and Mk3 seat even more passengers would probably still be balanced.

Additionally, since the capacity of the Mk1 is unchanged, the change would not affect any of the entries up until this post.

The IA-720 is an economical, high capacity long range commercial airliner. At a mere 32,739,000 funds and 48 parts, it is capable of carrying 72 kerbals in relative comfort thanks to its wide body design. Powered by a pair of fuel efficient Wheesley Turbofans, its capable of cruising up to at least 1600km without refueling, reaching a top speed of 285m/s at an optimum cruising altitude of 5500m with a fuel consumption of around 0.22 units of LF per second. If fuel economy is preferred over speed, climbing to 7500m will extend range by several hundred km, but cruising speed will drop to 240m/s.
Notable features include:
- Aerodynamic, wide body design contributing body lift to the craft, reducing wing span( and drag) needed for a craft of its size, improving fuel efficiency and permits access to smaller airports.
- By increasing the number of seats threefold while keeping the number of windows the same, purchasing Airlines can charge more for window seats.
- Widebody fuselage is buoyant; the IA-720 is a capable seaplane allowing multi-role usage and servicing of seaside locations.
- 50m/s takeoff speed, and 40m/s landing speed on both land and sea.Craft File

In case the IA-720 is insufficient for today's Airline, Insanity Aerospace also offers the longer range IA-E720 variant.
At 34,839,000 funds and 58 parts, the E720 is capable of carrying up to 80 kerbals, while extended fuel tanks permit a range of at least 2100km. Fuel consumption remains the same, but increased mass of extra fuel does impact speed, with a max cruising speed of 260m/s at 5500m/s.

- Same overall airframe as the IA-720. Wherever the IA-720 can go, so can the E variant.Craft File